Clarence Gilyard Net Worth: How Much He Earned Till The Age Of 66?

Born on December 24, 1955, and passing away on November 28, 2022, Clarence Darnell Gilyard Jr. taught at universities, acted in films, and wrote books in the United States. Some sources list his middle name as Alfred, and he has appeared in film, TV, and the theatre.

Gilyard was best known for his roles as Conrad McMasters, Ben Matlock’s (Andy Griffith) right-hand man and second private investigator in the legal drama series Matlock (1989–1993); Pastor Bruce Barnes in the Left Behind movie trilogy;

Cordell Walker (Chuck Norris) Texas Ranger partner, James “Jimmy” Trivette, in the 1990s crime drama Walker, Texas Ranger; Theo, the terrorist computer expert in Die Hard; and Lieutenant (junior grade) Marcus ” In this article, we will discuss Clarence Gilyard net worth and many more things related to it.

Clarence Gilyard Early life

Gilyard was born in Moses Lake, Washington on Christmas Eve 1955 to Barbara and Clarence Darnell Gilyard Sr., a U.S. Air Force officer. It was Gilyard’s second turn around the birth order, out of a total of six.

Though Gilyard’s ancestors were from New Orleans, he spent his childhood on military stations in Hawaii, Texas, and Florida. He was brought up predominantly Lutheran but converted to Catholicism in his twenties.

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Gilyard spent his formative years in the San Bernardino neighborhood of Rialto, where he went to Eisenhower High School. He graduated at the top of his class in 1974, then spent a year as an Air Force Academy cadet before dropping out to enroll at Sterling College, where he excelled academically. He joined the fraternity Sigma Chi and played football at the university level.

He was awarded a tennis scholarship but did not use it, instead choosing to forego his education. Gilyard, when still a teenager and still living at home with his parents, was heavily involved in the female gender, booze, and occasionally narcotics. In response to parental pressure, he and a friend uprooted to Long Beach, California.

He studied acting at California State University, Long Beach, and then got a job waiting tables while auditioning. The California State University, Dominguez Hills is where he earned his bachelor’s degree.

When Gilyard was working at a clothes store with his roommate, he was eventually given the position of manager. He departed for a short time to pursue a career in the sale of industrial chemicals. Gilyard went back to school in 2003 and graduated with a master’s degree in theatre performance from Southern Methodist University.

Clarence Gilyard Career

Upon deciding to pursue an acting career, Gilyard relocated to Los Angeles in 1979. When he played a cheerleader in the play Bleacher Bums, he became the first black actor to do so, according to one publication; from there, he moved on to television.

Gilyard was a character actor who appeared in episodes of popular television shows such as Diff’rent Strokes, The Facts of Life, 227, Simon & Simon, and Riptide. Gilyard co-starred with Erik Estrada as Officer Benjamin Webster on the final season of the NBC police drama CHiPs, which aired from 1982–1983.

He played alongside Jim Carrey in the NBC comedy The Duck Factory from 1984. For McDonald’s 1987 advertisement, he made an appearance. In Top Gun, released in 1986, Gilyard made his film debut as Lt. (JG) Marcus “Sundown” Williams, an F-14 Tomcat radar intercept officer.

In the 1986 sequel The Karate Kid Part II, he played a military man. In the action movie Die Hard from 1988, he played the role of Theo, a criminal computer expert. In both Left Behind: The Movie and its sequel, Left Behind II: Tribulation Force, he played the role of Reverend Bruce Barnes.

As Ben Matlock’s private investigator Conrad McMasters, Gilyard co-starred with Andy Griffith on Matlock from 1989 to 1993. He took over for Kene Holliday, who was fired due to his substance abuse. Starting in season 3, Gilyard was featured in nearly every Matlock episode.

With the series’ seventh season, production relocated from Los Angeles to Wilmington, North Carolina to accommodate the show’s switch from NBC to ABC. Andy Griffith proposed to Gilyard that he move there, too, which he did, before going to work on a prototype for another series at CBS the following year.

His long-running co-starring role with Chuck Norris on Walker, Texas Ranger began in 1993. Gilyard played Walker’s best buddy and fellow Texas Ranger James “Jimmy” Trivette.

Near the end of the series, Norris’ character married his longtime girlfriend, an assistant district attorney, while Gilyard’s character was given a girlfriend. A brief scene featuring Gilyard can be found in the 2005 TV movie Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire. After stepping away from acting to pursue a career in education, Gilyard returned to the screen in 2012, primarily in independent films.

His most recent film appearance was in 2014’s A Matter of Faith. On January 17, 2016, Gilyard played Hoak Colburn in Driving Miss Daisy at the Neil Simon Festival, with his former Walker, Texas Ranger co-star, Sheree J. Wilson. The play was presented in Popejoy Hall on the campus of the University of New Mexico.

Gilyard portrays high school head coach Devin Wade in the “Longshot” mode of Madden NFL 2018, a football video game. After the release of Die Hard, Gilyard appeared in a commercial for Advance Auto Parts.

DieHard brand of car batteries with Bruce Willis two years later, once again playing the part of criminal gang member Theo. During his time at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas, Gilyard taught as an associate professor in the Department of Theatre in the College of Fine Arts. Career plays a massive role in clarence Gilyard net worth as all the clarence Gilyard net worth is collected from his career.

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Clarence Gilyard Personal life

Gilyard was married twice and had six children. After divorcing Catherine Dutko, he wed Elena Castillo in 2001. He served as the consultant of the communications committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In November 2022, at the age of 66, Gilyard passed away following a protracted illness. Everyone is interested in clarence Gilyard net worth.

Clarence Gilyard Net Worth

Clarence Gilyard was an American actor and college lecturer who had a  clarence Gilyard net worth of $5 million at the time of his death. On November 28, 2022, at the age of 66, we lost Clarence. In the month of December 1955, Clarence Gilyard entered the world in Moses Lake, Washington.

So that he could pursue a career in acting, he relocated to Los Angeles in 1980. He made history as the first African-American actor to play the role of the cheerleader in the Broadway production of Bleacher Bums. Diff’rent Strokes was the first TV show he ever appeared on, and it was in 1981.

From 1982 to 1983 he starred as Benjamin Webster in the TV series CHiPs. Gilyard’s first TV role was in the 1984 show The Duck Factory. In 1986, he had roles in Top Gun and The Karate Kid Part II.

He starred as Theo in the 1988 film Die Hard and as Conrad McMasters in the TV series Matlock, which ran from 1989 to 1993. Walker, Texas Ranger was on television from 1993 to 2001, and he played the role of James Trivette throughout that time.

In 196 of the show’s 203 total episodes, he had a recurring role. Starring as the main character, Clarence appeared on artScene in 2013. On both the 1999 Lone Star Film & Television Awards and the 2000 Image Awards, Gilyard was recognized for his role as a supporting actor on Walker, Texas Ranger.

He was a collegiate football player and Air Force Academy cadet for a year. After completing his graduate studies in theatrical education at Southern Methodist University, he worked as an Associate Professor in the College of Fine Arts Theatre Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. This all is clarence Gilyard net worth.

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